Michelle Beadle: Moving to NBC Was the Right Move for Her Career

Much has been made of Michelle Beadle leaving ESPN and Bristol, CT for the bright lights of NBC in New York City, but ultimately it was the right decision for the rising television host.

Beadle rose through the sportscaster ranks from New Jersey Nets sideline reporter for the YES network to SportsNation co-host for ESPN. Now she finds herself a part of the NBC Sports and Access Hollywood team.

The Huffington Post reports that Beadle's contract with NBC includes the Access correspondent gig, being a part of the network's Triple Crown, Olympics and NFL Kickoff coverage and a to-be-announced program built around her on NBC Sports.

Beadle recently talked with Sports Illustrated writer Richard Deitsch about the show in development:

"The one thing we've talked about is me and one or two males, and it would be a panel of shooting the bull in the morning on sports-related stories."

That is not to say that ESPN wasn't offering her plenty of air-time between her podcast and her work on SportsNation, but now Beadle can talk celebrities and movies while also being able to stick to her roots in sports while covering top events.

The worldwide sports leader tried heavily to keep their rising star, as Deitsch reported, but I don't blame Beadle for moving to NBC.

I believe in loyalty to the company that gave you your big break and it is a hard thing to leave what is familiar. However, in the world of sports journalism, you have to take opportunities when they present themselves because you don't know when or if similar or better opportunities will come again.

Bleacher Report has seen a great amount of talented writers join its ranks as of late, and the reason for that is those writers chose to leave what was comfortable in order to take advantage of a great opportunity.

Beadle now gets to travel to the London Olympic games, she will be present during the Triple Crown races for years to come, and the opportunity to try her skills in the world of Hollywood reporting will remain as well.

I am sure the decision to move on to NBC was a difficult one for Beadle, but it was a smart move and I think she will excel in her roles with her new network.